World Music and Arts in August

Each month around this time, I update my readers on world music and arts events around the world for the following month. This allows you time to make your travel arrangements or to purchase tickets to an event if you’re already traveling to a region where a festival, concert or art show is scheduled.

If you’re traveling in August, here’s what’s on the calendar…

The Wickham Festival kicks off on August 2nd and runs through the 5th in Hampshire, England. They’ll be hosting a wide range of artists including Luka Bloom, Eliza Carthy, Jethro Tull and my personal favorite, Dean Freidman. (I’m a certified Dean-fan since his one-hit-wonder, Ariel, from way back in the 80’s.) Tickets ain’t cheap. The whole weekend will set you back $175 – oh my gosh, Bumbershoot doesn’t sound so bad any longer!

The second annual Tamburi Mundi Festival begins on August 7th. This frame drum festival happens in Freiberg, Germany and was formed to create a network in Europe for frame drummers to play, learn and exchange information about their musical skills. Yes, frame drum stars, such as Sting’s percussionist, will be performing. Who knew there was a frame drum cult happening?

In late August, Scandinavia will host the Aarhus Festival in Denmark. It’s one of the largest cultural events in the region and this year it will be showcasing dance, theatre, opera and children’s entertainment. It’s a ten-day event in which the town of Aarhus is overtaken with artists from around the globe. It appears that in addition to free street performances, there will be individual events for which tickets will be sold.

If you’ll be in the Seattle area in August (why would you leave?), you can take in Angelique Kidjo at the Key Arena on August 18th. And, of course, don’t forget to buy advanced tickets to Bumbershoot, which begins on September 1.